The Dream Child
by ItDoesn'tMatterWhoIAm
Summary: Ray is attacked by a ghost which results in a very unusual condition afterward. Egon helps him out while Peter and Winston carry about their business as usual. (mpreg within. Don't like? Don't read)


Ray Stantz laid on his back on the concrete floor of the theater basement as he panted for breath. The massive red ghost had struck him right in the gut and sent him flying across the room, knocking the wind right out of his lungs. A splash of red slime stained the front of his beige colored flight suit and soaked right through the fabric into his black shirt underneath and chilled his skin under the layer of cold film.

Putting his hand to his pained stomach Ray rolled to his side and breathed through the pain.

"You okay Ray?" Egon Spengler took a stance beside his winded team mate as he continued to try and capture the red ghost.

"F-Fine..." Ray lied between his weak breaths. "I'm okay."

Winston Zeddemore didn't believe Ray and offered a hand to help him up. "Why don't you sit this one out? Me and Egon can take down this red freak."

"I can do it..." Ray replied just as pathetically as he took Winston's hand. "I just need a minute."

"What you need is to get out of here." Winston stated as he threw a trap out on the opened floor for Egon. "Man, I bet you have a cracked rib."

"No, my chest doesn't hurt. Just my stomach. Feels like I was sucker punched by Ali." Keeping a hand pressed to his abdomen he winced in pain and felt as though he might throw up.

The red ghost swooped through the room, looked at Ray and laughed in his face before spinning around in midair and disappearing from sight.

Egon turned on his P.K.E. meter and scanned the area. "It's gone. The ghost must have crossed over using a small portal."

"See?" Ray teased. He was beginning to shiver from the cold slime on his stomach. "I didn't need to sit this out after all."

"Come on." Egon took Ray by the arm. "I want to get your checked out."

"Egon I-"

Winston had retrieved the unused trap and was now pulling on Ray's other arm. "I agree with Egon. You're in pain, don't deny it."

After returning to their headquarters in the old fire station Egon had convinced Ray to allow a quick physical to rule out any possible broken bones or internal bleeding.

Ray unzipped his flight suit, took off his black shirt beneath and waited for the exam. "Ready whenever you are."

Egon didn't say much, he could see the damage beneath the thin layer of slime that was still stuck to Ray's skin. All Egon had to do was point to the nasty purple bruise that was already forming on Ray's abdomen. "I think we found the source of your discomfort."

Ray looked down at the bruise and put his hand on to discolored skin. "Yeah, that would explain it."

"You're pale." Egon noted as he handed Ray a white towel to wipe away the remaining red slime. "Aside from the bruise what else is bothering you?"

Ray wiped off his stomach and jumped a little as even the slightest pressure against the bruise hurt. "My stomach's a little upset, but a harsh blow to the abdomen can do that."

Walking closer to Ray Egon pressed his hand against Ray's forehead. "You have an elevated temperature."

"Fever?"

"Possibly."

"Great. Probably just a cold from being coated in icy slime."

"You're most likely correct but I'd like to keep an eye on you for the next forty-eight hours, just in case."

"Yeah sure. It's not like I'm going anywhere tonight anyway."

"I'll examine the slime." Egon took the damp towel from Ray's hand. "Go upstairs and shower off. You need to warm up."

"Good idea."

The warm shower was a welcome sensation against Ray's cool skin. The pounding water relaxed his muscles and took the biting chill from his body. Looking back down at the bruise on his stomach he put a hand to it, only to quickly retract his touch. "Damn that smarts..."

Exiting the shower, wrapping a fresh towel around himself, he walked into their sleeping quarters to find Peter Venkman laying over his bed. "Venkman."

"Ray." Peter looked up and smiled at Ray and pointed at the obvious bruise. "That's a pretty color on you."

"Thanks."

"You hit on the wrong girl or something?"

"No. I was tackled by a ghost when everyone, except you, went on the call this afternoon."

"Sorry I missed it. But it's not everyday that a beautiful girl agrees to lunch with me."

"How was lunch?"

"Let's just say we won't be having dinner tonight."

"Too bad."

"I let her down easy." He jumped off Ray's bed and put his hand on the semi nude man's shoulder. "Since Egon has you under surveillance tonight, yes he told me and yes I asked you anyway because I wanted to hear your side of things, want to see if there's something good on TV tonight?"

"No thanks." Ray opened his footlocker at the end of his bed and pulled out some fresh clothes. "I'm going to get something light to eat and go to bed. I'm tired."

"Party pooper." Peter gave Ray and exaggerated frown. "Oh well, guess it's me and Winston tonight."

"Yeah, I guess so." Ray wasn't interested in Peter's antics. "Have fun."

"Always do!" Peter called out as he slid down the fire pole that connected the sleeping quarters to the garage on the first floor.

Stumbling into the kitchen Ray fumbled through the cupboards to find something to eat, but nothing looked appetizing. "Aw, nuts."

"Here." Egon had walked into the kitchen with a mug of tea in his hands. "Drink this."

"Thanks."

"You still look pale." Egon noted as he pressed his hand back to Ray's forehead. "And your body temperature is still elevated."

"I'll be fine." Ray sipped at the tea. "I just need to get some sleep. Did you find anything about the red slime?"

"Not much, as of yet, but this particular strain of slime is unlike anything we've encountered before."

"Is it toxic?" Ray asked as the worst case scenario popped into his head. "Am I-"

"No, it's not toxic. You're not in any danger."

"Well, that's a relief." He finished off the tea. "So what makes the red slime so special?"

"It appears to contain humanoid cells mixed in with the ectoplasmic membrane."

"Red blood cells could explain the color."

"That's what I theorize as well. If the humanoid cells are in tact it would be possible to gather a D.N.A. sample and with it uncover the chromosomal construct of a ghost."

"Wow! That's incredible!" Ray was trying to sound excited but he was starting to feel very tired.

"Ray, go get some sleep. I'll continue to study the red slime and if I find anything new I'll let you know tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure." He handed the empty mug back to Egon. "Thanks."

"No problem."

 **~time warp~**

After **eight** weeks of studying the red slime Egon was no closer to identifying the substance and Ray's bruise had since fully healed. But despite the recovery he was still feeling unwell.

Egon took notice of his friend's poor health and did his best to aid him. "Are you still vomiting?"

"Yeah..." Ray walked out of the bathroom with a paper towel to his mouth. "And I'm really tired of it."

"Sixteen consecutive days of vomiting is serious Ray. You should go to the doctor."

"No. I don't want to see a doctor over a little 'tummy ache'."

"There's nothing little about this. I don't want to see you collapse from dehydration."

"I won't. I've been drinking plenty of water and every mug of tea you bring me."

"You are beginning to act as stubbornly as Peter."

"Stop it. I'm fine, I swear."

"I doubt it." Egon wasn't going to let the situation slide. "Perhaps the attack from the red ghost had caused an internal injury that I failed to notice."

"If that was the case I would have collapsed weeks ago."

"Fair enough point."

Winston rushed into the lab where Egon and Ray had been working. "Hey guys, there's a ghost causing problems in the subway."

"Let's go." Ray wasn't going to sideline himself any time soon.

Egon just shook his head but didn't try to stop Ray.

After **twelve** weeks Ray finally stopped vomiting as much, only doing so when he ate something spicy. Unfortunately he had acquired a craving for spicy food which only irritated Egon. Peter and Winston didn't mind all the spiciness since Ray was the one paying for it.

Egon had stopped pushing Ray to go to the doctor. Instead he chose to observe from a distance and mentally keep track of Ray's health.

When **eighteen** weeks rolled passed since Ray was attacked a new detail caught Egon's attention.

"Hey Ray, I don't mean to pry but I do believe you should stop eating all the spicy food."

"Why's that?" Ray asked as he sat down on the desk in the lab.

"You appear to have gained some weight in the past few weeks."

Ray gave Egon a strange look before glancing down at his stomach, which was a bit rounder and larger than normal. "Maybe you're right. I didn't even notice."

"I did." Peter walked into the lab and joined in on the discussion. "But I didn't want to say anything."

"To spare my feelings?"

"No, so I'd look thinner by comparison."

"Funny."

That night the four Ghostbusters went to sleep without a call all day. Everyone was sleeping easily except for Ray who was suddenly suffering from a mixture of heartburn and insomnia. Lifting the cover up and looked down at his stomach he decided that first thing in the morning he was going to go on a diet. Until then he needed something to ease his heartburn.

Quietly he got out of bed and walked into the bathroom. Inside the medicine cabinet he took a bottle of antacid and popped a couple of the pills. "Meh, chalky." He grimaced before suddenly feeling nauseous again. But the nausea wasn't caused by something he ate, it was caused by something he felt. "What the hell...?" With a shaking hand he pressed against his enlarged stomach and felt a firm mass as opposed to a squishy mound of flesh. "I need to get Egon!"

Keeping calm and composed he walked back into the sleeping quarters, kneeled beside Egon's bed and shook his friend awake. "Egon!"

"What is it Ray?" Egon asked sleepily.

"I need your help."

"Help?" At those words Egon was fully awake. "Help with what?"

"Just come with me to the lab."

"Alright." Egon quickly climbed out his bed, grabbed his glasses from the nightstand and followed Ray into the lab.

The situation at hand seemed too urgent for either men to change into normal clothes. Ray was wearing his white shirt and blue boxers while Egon wore a white tank top and black sweat pants.

"Ray, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure." Egon answered quickly as he shut the door to the lab and tore off his shirt. "But there's something definitely wrong with me!"

"Do you want me to take you to the hospital?"

"No!" Ray was unusually defensive. "I just... I just want to make sure I'm not going crazy!"

"Crazy?" Egon was very alarmed. "Why would you be crazy?"

"Because... Because I feel... something."

"Something?" Egon didn't know what Ray was talking about. "What is this 'something'?"

"Here." Ray took Egon's hand and placed it on his stomach.

"Your stomach? What am I supposed to-"

"Just... Just give me a quick exam. I know there's something wrong here."

Concern for his friend pushed aside all of Egon's hesitation as he began to carefully palpitate Ray's stomach. It wasn't long into the exam before Egon realized that Ray was right. "There is something unusual here. Some kind of mass has grown inside your abdominal cavity."

"A tumor?" Ray asked worriedly.

"Most likely. We should make an appointment to-" Egon was stopped mid thought as he felt something move under his fingertips.

"You felt it too!" Ray sounded almost relieved. "I knew I felt something move."

"Ray..." Egon's eyes widened with disbelief. "Tumors don't move."

"But muscles spasm."

"That wasn't a spasm."

"Then... what was it?"

Egon kept his hand in place where he had felt the movement until the movement return, confirming his suspicions. "I believe that was a kick."

Ray's eyes were now as wide as Egon's. "...kick...?"

"Yes."

"As in...?"

"Yes."

"So I'm...?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

Egon pulled his hand away as he studied Ray's face. "Ray, I believe that this proves our theory about the red slime containing human cells, and more specifically, D.N.A."

"Yeah..."

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah..."

"Are you going to pass out?"

"Yeah..." And Ray promptly crumpled to the floor.

Egon caught the unconscious man, although it was difficult with Ray's unexpected weight gain. Choosing to stay with Ray and not awaken the others, Egon chose to run a few scans on Ray to make sure he wasn't in any danger from his 'condition'.

Around **twenty-four** weeks Ray's weight gain was very obvious to everyone. He wanted to keep his condition a secret and Egon respected his wishes. But when Ray no longer went out on calls, leaving Peter and Winston to do a majority of the physical work as Egon took advantage of the empty fire station to run further tests on Ray, the two fielding Ghostbusters were growing suspicious, if not resentful.

"Okay Ray, out with it." Peter demanded as he stormed into Egon's lab after returning from their latest call. "Why are you and Spengler staying here?"

Winston was just as annoyed as Peter. "Yeah. What's going on?"

Ray paled and swallowed nervously as Egon kept his word by keeping his silence.

"Well, I..." Ray was a understandably upset and scared. "I'm sort of... sick."

"Sick?" Winston's anger melted into sympathy. "How sick? I mean... it's not cancer is it?"

"What? No! No!" Ray reassured him. "But it is... different."

Peter was tired of the stalling. "What is different Ray? I'm happy to go on calls, that's not a problem, but what is a problem is you keeping secrets from us!"

"Y-yeah. You're right." Ray decided it was time to come clean. "Well, you've noticed that I've... uh... put on some weight."

"Yeah." Peter was still annoyed.

"Well, it's not from overeating or a slow metabolism. I'm... uh... pregnant."

"P-pregnant?!" Winston stammered. "Yeah right!"

Ray gave Egon a look of 'why not' as he lifted up his shirt and exposed his larger stomach. "Yeah, right."

"Uh..." Peter was very confused. "So who's the father? Or... mother, in this case?"

"No one." Egon finally spoke up. "When the red ghost attacked him six months ago it transferred cells from its body and into his own. The cells in the red ghosts body are regenerative and combined with the cells in Ray's body."

"...but Egon," Peter was quick to point out. "Ray's a male. Not a female. He doesn't have a uterus and he doesn't have ovaries to produce eggs."

"True." Egon was getting around to explaining the weird details. "But both males and females produce the hormones testosterone and estrogen, as well as trace amounts of progesterone. The regenerative cells from the ghost had transmogrified into reproductive cells, acting like an unfertilized egg, and went the cells in Ray's body came into contact with this egg his cells were also transmogrified."

"So let me get this straight, a ghost impregnated Ray?"

"Correct."

"And Ray is going to... have a..."

"Baby."

"Oh. Well that explains alot."

Ray was blushing a little. "Yeah, well this can't leave the fire station! No one is going to know."

"But Ray, eventually your little miracle is going to have to be born." Peter again quickly pointed out. "I think you're going to need a little help there."

Egon cleared his throat. "When the time comes I will perform a Cesarean section and deliver the baby, here."

"And then what?"

Ray answered the question quietly. "Well, if it's healthy and completely normal I'll put it up for adoption. If there's something wrong with it..."

"...oh." Peter suddenly felt horrible for prying into Ray's business. "Do what you think is best. No judgement from me.""

Winston put his hand on Ray's shoulder. "Well, think of it this way. You two will definitely have your names recorded in paranormal studies!"

"Yeah..." Ray put his shirt back down and rested his hand on his stomach. "At least something good will come of this."

After **thirty-two** weeks Ray was very uncomfortable with himself. He felt like he was a fat slob who let himself go, he was always tired and had a hard time moving. Unable to leave the fire station he also felt trapped and alone.

Egon had been a good friend and kept him company, but with all the tests Egon was running he felt more like a guinea pig than a human.

Peter had stopped teasing Ray ever since he was told about what was happening and chose to instead run errands for his pregnant friend.

Winston had taken a different approach. Rather than amuse Ray or keep him company he decided to take an initiative and adjust the menu at the fire station. Every recipe was now a healthy one and he spent most of his time cooking in the kitchen. The smell of a home cooked meal was just the right thing to help all four men feel more at ease with the unusual situation.

"Egon, I hate this." Ray admitted as he laid on his bed feeling like a beached whale. "We need to take of this tonight."

"I'm sorry Ray." Egon was sitting on his own bed reading a book while keeping an eye on Ray. "If we do this too early it could prove hazardous to the... baby."

"And if we do it too late then it'll prove hazardous to me and what's left of my sanity!"

Egon was startled by Ray's outburst.

"...Sorry."

"It's alright. I know you're very uncomfortable and don't feel quite like yourself."

"Yeah. You can say that again." He patted his hands on his stomach. "I just wish this was over. I want to know what this... thing... is. And I just want to get back to my normal life."

"Just a few more weeks." Egon reminded him. "You survived the past eight months, you can survive a few more weeks."

After reaching **thirty-seven** weeks Ray was officially at his wits end. He was huge, restless, tired and sore from being kicked all day and night.

Sitting on the couch at about 2 am with nothing more to watch than a static filled b-horror movie, Ray was on the verge of tears.

Peter and Winston were on a late night call leaving himself and Egon alone in the fire station. It was quiet and felt empty all through the fire station, which only made Ray feel all the worse.

Rubbing his hand up and down the side of his stomach Ray stared absentmindedly at the flickering screen. In the film a young woman was fleeing from a monster only to trip and fall. The monster walked over to her, reached for her and she let out a high pitched scream. With that scream Ray let out a sharp groan of pain.

"Ah!" Ray wrapped his arm around his stomach as a searing pain tore into him. "Uh-oh, it's time. FINALLY." Pushing himself up from the couch Ray called up the stairs to where Egon was sleeping in the sleep quarters. "Spengler! It's show time!" He fell to his knees as another terrible pain racked his body. "Hurry!"

Egon looked down the staircase, saw Ray on the floor and sprinted down the stairs. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty sure." Ray snapped angrily. "I'm in horrible pain and it just started coming at intermittent-" He paused as another wave of pain hit him. "intervals."

"You're already in alot of pain for having just started labor." Egon helped Ray back to his feet and into the lab. "We need to move now, we can't wait for Peter or Winston to help."

"You're going to do this alone?" Ray asked as Egon helped him to lay down on a cleared off table.

"I don't have a choice. I'm not going to risk your health."

Ray gripped his stomach again. "Okay, I trust you."

Egon cut off Ray's shirt and draped a sheet of sterile dressing over Ray's body. "Ray I'm going to put you to sleep with a heavy sedative. You don't feel anything and when you wake up, it'll all be over."

"When I wake up?"

"That's right. Wake up."

Before Ray knew it he felt a sting in his arm and his world suddenly become heavy and dark. He felt nothing physically but he could feel the presence of his friends standing around him. There was a muttering sound and Ray realized that it was voices. His friends were all talking to him!

"Wake up."

"I'm trying he thought to himself."

"Wake up, Ray." It was Egon speaking.

"I want to!"

"Come on man, you've been out long enough!"

"Winston? What do you mean?"

Peter spoke up next. "Maybe we should call a doctor. He's really out of it."

"What're you talking about?" Ray suddenly felt hot with the exception of something very cold pressing against his forehead, and he could feel gentle pressure on his wrist. "Am I... dreaming?"

 **~end time warp~**

Egon let go of Ray's wrist as he finished counting his pulse. "I think he's coming around."

Ray's eyes fluttered open and he blearily looked at the three men gathered around him. "What's going on?"

Peter answered with an abrasive tone. "You went to bed with a fever and didn't take any medication."

"Fever?"

"Yeah man." Winston put his hand on Ray's arm. "Your fever spiked in the night. Egon found you and has been taking care of you ever since."

"Egon?" Ray lifted his head and looked at Egon. "What happened to me?"

"You caught a severe cold after being soaked in the red slime. Your body was already taxed from the severe blow to your abdomen which meant the bacteria was able to run rampant through your body. But we have managed to reduce your fever and I believe you'll make a full recovery in a few days."

"How..." Ray looked down at his stomach and saw it was normal. "How long was I out?"

"Two days."

"Wow..." He closed his eyes and laughed a little. "I had the craziest dream..."

 **-End**


End file.
